The Jazz Gallery, a cozy, mysterious music venue nestled between New York's famous Soho and its outskirts at 290 Hudson Street, hosted a performance the previous two nights featuring Steve Coleman and Five Elements. As their name, Steve Coleman and Five Elements, suggests, Steve Coleman lead the ensemble and his five elements (Jen Shyu, vocals; Johnathan Finlayson, trumpet; Marcus Gilmore, drums; Miles Okazaki, guitar; and David Virelles, piano and keyboard synthesizer) supported him by coloring Coleman's compositions with their distinct musical voices and sounds.
Upon entering the Gallery, one is greeted by a set of aged, wooden steps. If you look closely enough, each step's varnish is worn away where, over time, the footprints of the many people traversing its steep climb has exposed the woods' grains leaving only worn, white spots. These weathered spots serve as a reminder that, after all, the role of the jazz musician is a role that depicts honesty and self-identity. Because the wood's appearance is so bare with nothing left to protect it, the jazz musician, during a performance, is similar by the way his or her voice is revealed during improvisation. The slow but gradual sense of growth towards developing a voice (i.e., how one moves away and toward a piece's melody during improvisation) is like the wood: polished and exposed through the continuous progression of time and the elements which rub its varnish away.
Passing the ticket man who sits at the top of the steps, there is a room with at least ten rows of chairs and a stage which is practically on top of the audience.
As my friends and I waited for Coleman and his elements, a man situated the equipment onstage -- instruments, stands, and chairs. This was the subtle cue for the audience to hush-up. Taking the mike, the man boldly, yet thoughtfully introduced Coleman to the audience, "You may know more than I do about this man, but I know him as...quite a swell guy." Need he say more? (Well, that was his point at least. I, too, found myself saying, "Yes, Coleman is quite a musical giant in this city. Quite.") Without a doubt, anyone who was sitting in the audience all ready had an established understanding of Coleman's status, personae, and mission. However, I will give you the latest scoop.
For a majority of Mondays throughout the year, Coleman conducts three-hour long workshops. They provide burgeoning jazz musicians an opportunity to play with Coleman, be coached by him, or listen to him perform with his Five Elements. Many attend these classes simply because Coleman is one of today's jazz legends, and after talking with a few listeners in the audience, the presentation of his musical theories/philosophies furthers and enhances the outlook for the next generation of jazz artists.
Here's an example of his workshop:
Notice at the beginning of the video Coleman's clapping of a steady, rhythmical phrase. Something similar to this always serves as the core of Coleman's compositions. For Coleman, a rhythm cannot stand alone. Instead, it must become part of a larger musical phrase, and internalizing the rhythm is essential. This then allows one's musicality to flow more naturally and expressively towards the listener.
The performance I attended (which was the first night) showed me just how Coleman's rhythmic system drives his compositions. By taking a rhythmic idea and repeating it, such as long-long-short-short, long-long-short-short, and passing it around like a melodic motif in a piece of classical music, Coleman and his Five Elements had room to improvise around this "idea." The result was something incredibly unique and original, and you could consistently locate the original rhythmic thought (I loved that!).
Coleman, as a leader in today's jazz scene, unites the gap between tonal and avant-garde jazz. Even attending only one of his performances was enough for me to realize this, and there is no doubt that I learned vast amounts from his music. As I mentioned earlier, he is one the largest leaders in today's jazz. I believe he will shape its future by influencing the next generation of jazz artists through his workshops and performances.
Here is Steve Coleman with most of the Five Elements I saw at the Jazz Gallery last night. Not playing is Marcus Gilmore, drums and David Virelles, piano and keyboard synth.
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